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Take Action to End Palestinian Terror Payments

For years, the Palestinian Authority (PA) has diverted international aid to subsidize payments that reward Palestinian terrorism against Israelis. International indignation has mounted at the realization that money donated for philanthropic purposes is in fact being redirected to profit those who kill Israeli civilians and foreigners.

Take action and urge your senators to support the revised Taylor Force Act, which conditions assistance to the West Bank and Gaza on steps by the Palestinian Authority to end violence and terrorism.

Email Your Federal Senators

Your Message

Subject
Take Action to End Palestinian Terror Payments

Dear (recipient name),

Message

As your constituent, I write to express my dismay about Palestinian payments for terror, and to urge your action to address them.

According to a recent Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs report, the Palestinian Authority allocated $344,313,451 for payments to Palestinian inmates in Israeli prisons, their families, and to the families of deceased terrorists in 2017. This number is equal to half of the amount of foreign aid directed toward the PA budget ($700,000,000). Payments are highest for the worst offenders, including those who die in the terrorist acts they commit. This serves to fuel a Palestinian narrative that reveres martyrdom, a serious barrier to peace. These payments, together with endemic incitement, make it difficult for Israelis to believe they have a true partner in negotiations.

Because the stability of the West Bank is as important for Israel’s security as it is for the Palestinians' welfare, funding for humanitarian efforts and Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation remains necessary. The Taylor Force Act, as amended by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Appropriations Committee, maintains that funding while holding other U.S. assistance in escrow for one year, to be released only once the PA takes "credible steps" to end violence against U.S. and Israeli citizens, helps investigate perpetrators of violent acts, and terminates the payments that reward terrorism. If the PA does not meet those criteria within one year, the funds held would be redirected to relevant NGOs operating in the region. The bill also calls on “all donor countries” to cease direct budgetary support until the PA stops all terror payments, and requires the State Department to put out an annual, declassified report detailing the PA’s terror payments.

The revised Taylor Force Act should have a real impact on this outrageous Palestinian behavior in a way that could ultimately advance the peace process and the two-state solution. I urge your support and appreciate your consideration of my views.